The Book Shopper

A Life in Review

Murray Browne

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"Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?"—Henry Ward Beecher

The Book Shopper is a spirited and witty guide to the world of disheveled used bookstores and dusty basements where shelves sag under the burden of so many books. In the limitless sea of books, here's one that will make you laugh as it helps you find your way to titles and authors you'll really want to read.

"This predilection [for browsing used bookstores] has grown into a real (albeit quirky) passion for thinking about the many ways books affect our lives—how and where we shop for them, the people we know who read them, the small passages that stick in our heads for years only to reappear at the oddest moments. The minds of book people are mosaics of ideas, thoughts, and phrases that have originated in books…I'm fascinated by how we hold and shape these fragments, how they coalesce into what I call my book shopper state of mind."—from Chapter 1 of The Book Shopper

In chapters such as "Book Lovers Are Not Necessarily People Lovers," "Prerequisites: What Every Good Bookstore Should Have," "Books as Gifts," and "The Classic Book Group," Murray Browne offers a lifeline to readers who love to browse for books and are always looking for that next great read—and a good deal—but who may be swamped by the vast offerings.

Murray Browne has published numerous essays, book reviews, newspaper articles, feature stories, and technical articles. He holds a BA in English and Radio-Television and an MS in Information (Library) Sciences from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Though he grew up in the Midwest, Browne now lives in Atlanta, where he works as a media content analyst.